Nothing clears a stage full of actors like a rat held by the tail.
The rodent was fake, of course, and the actors -- dozens of lawyer-types dressed as, well, lawyer-types -- were poking fun at an incident in which rats were found to have infested the Arkansas Governor's Mansion.
The stage was that of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, and the show was opening night of the 100th anniversary production of Gridiron, the biennial satirical spoof of national and state officeholders and other politicos worth mocking. The sold-out show, dubbed Gridiron 2016: Bake America's Cake Again, ran Tuesday through Saturday.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson and his wife, Susan, were in the crowd Tuesday, and -- per the spirit of Gridiron -- took the jab with a grin. The governor tweeted about the show later that night, and the first lady praised it in correspondence with the producer, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mary Spencer McGowan. Word on the street was that Susan even found the rat skit funny.
As was expected during a presidential election year, the main characters were Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton (Kathryn Pryor) and Republican nominee Donald Trump (Craig Wilson). Trump's real-life theatrics provided Wilson myriad opportunities to imitate and ridicule the floppy-haired Trump. Also included was a beautifully rewritten rendition of "I Will Never Leave You" from the musical Side Show, in which a present-day Hillary shared a sentimental moment with her pre-politics, young hippie self, played by Mary Berry.
The show ended with former President Bill Clinton (Rick Holiman) popping out of a giant red, white and blue 100th anniversary cake to join in on an altered version of "One Day More" from Les Miserables. Holiman hadn't performed in Gridiron in several years -- "mostly because Bill hasn't been doing anything," McGowan said -- but the actor returned to play the president as he had done so well in the past.
The cast included several longtime Gridiron thespians with decades of experience doing the show.
High Profile on 08/07/2016